In April (during the NBA Playoffs), Josh Howard held a well publicized radio interview with Micheal Irvin, condoning the use of marijuana and confessing to his and fellow players usage of the substance.
On that same night, Howard suited up to play in game three of the Mavs-Hornets series and after its conclusion, distributed flyers to his birthday bash.
Mark Cuban addressed these issues and Josh apologized knowing that his reputation had taken a major hit.
I, along with countless Mavericks, thought Josh's shenanigans were over until last Thursday.
J-Ho was charged with three counts of speeding in North Carolina.
Number five was already involved in a trade with the Kings for Ron Artest prior to the traffic incident and the Mavs turned it down, now have Howard's latest antics secured his spot on the trading block? I believe so.
One of the premier small forwards in the league, the former Wake Forest standout averaged 19.9 PPG, 7 RPG, and 2.2 APG.
I've decided to crunch the numbers and here are trades that would involving Howard that would benefit both the Mavericks and their trade partner:
Option Number One: Mavs send SG/SF Josh Howard and SG Jerry Stackhouse to the Los Angeles Lakers for SF/PF Lamar Odom and PG Jordan Farmar.
Displeased with Lamar’s performance in the postseason, the Lakers were earlier involved in tals with Sacramento about trading for Ron Artest, but unfortunately the transaction fell through. With Lamar Odon only having one year remaining on his deal and his lack of defense hurting the Lakers, Howard would be a superb upgrade.
The only concern though is whether life in the big city will be too enticing for Howard.
The Mavs essentially become last season's Lakers, with a starting lineup that would feature three players 6'10" or taller: Lamar Odom, Dirk Nowitzki, and Erick Dampier. Dallas also would be starch free of Odom after the '08-'09 season and can look to dip into a
Option Number Two: Mavs send SG/SF Josh Howard to Charlotte for Bobcats SF Gerald Wallace.
Rick Carlisle idolizes defense, so his blessing will be given on this swap of small forwards. Wallace is among one of the best forwards in the game and has made excellent progress since his time with the Kings. Wallace had a career year last season in points per game, rebounds, assists, blocks per game, steals, free throw shooting, and in minutes per game.
While Charlotte will miss Gerald’s smash mouth persona, they will be submerged in playmakers. Felton, Richardson, and Howard will be able to feed off each other, as well as newly resigned C Emela Okafor cashing in on the acquisition.
Option Number Three: Mavs send SG/SF Josh Howard and C Erick Dampier for New York Knicks PF Zach Randolph and PF Malik Rose.
Dallas inherits a low post scorer and a good rebounder but they must also take absentee Malik Rose for the deal to work. After this move, Dirk rotates back to his actual position and Jason Terry regains his role as Dallas’s starting shooting guard.
Galinari moves to power forward to occupy the position left by Zach and Josh continues to play at small forward. With Marbury gone after next season, a base of Galinari, Howard, and Nate Robinson will be the future in New York.
The Knicks also gain a small amount of leverage in the Lebron Sweepstakes.
The Knickerbockers are coached by Mike D’Antoni who also is friends with Lebron James and coaches him as an assistant coach on the USA Olympic basketball team. That key factor combined with talent and cap room might be enough to lure the King away from Brooklyn and to Manhattan.
Option Number Four:
Mavs send SG/SF Josh Howard and cash to Toronto for SF/PF Jamario Moon, PF/C Andrea Bargnai, and SG/SF Anthony Parker.
Mavs get a quick reacting cap relief as all three incoming players only have one year left on their contracts. Dallas also receives help in the frontcourt with Bargnai and Jamario Moon, and solid perimeter defender in Parker.
The Raptors have a formation of Josh Howard, Chris Bosh, Jermaine O’Neal, and Jose Calderon for the '08-'09 season, a squad that should take the them far into the playoffs. Also by acquiring Howard, Jermaine O’Neal may be tempted to resign with the Raptors for less money, at the risk of winning a championship.
Option Number Five: Mavs send SG/SF Josh Howard and PG/SG Jason Terry to Detroit for SG Richard Hamilton, SG Arron Affalo, and PF/C Amir Johnson.
Joe Dumars vowed to make major modifications to Detroit's roster and so far he's failed in his attempts to acquire Tracy McGrady, Carmelo Anthony, and Josh Smith. Josh Howard is easily the most attainable out of the previous three and should help the Pistons score.
With Chauncey Billups at the helm and Rodney Stuckey's strong surge in the playoffs expecting to garner him additional minutes this season, I can't visualize Rip Hamilton being a part of the Pistons anymore.
Hamilton should receive a pleasant reception in Detroit, as he will be reunited with Rick Carlisle, who coached Hamilton in Detroit for two seasons, 2001-03, and was recognized as Coach of the Year in 2002 during his short stint.
Josh Howard will probably be dealt sometime this offseason, so Dallas fans don't expect him in navy blue and white in 2008.
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23 days ago
I have always liked Josh Howard and have been proud to have him on the team. However, I was really let down by his actions at the end of last season. I was shocked about his admitting to doing POT..I just couldn't believe he'd go out there and basically brag about it. Then, of course things became much worse when he handed out Flyers for his party. It was yet another stupid move by Josh that in fact hurt the team, because Avery was so angry at the rules that Josh(and others who attended the party during playoffs)broke, that he cancelled the next practice. I continued to hope things would change for the better with Josh and for the Mavs. Of course there have been some major changes as far as coaching.. but Josh is continuing to make headlines for the WRONG reasons. He needs to go..Simple as that.
I love Option ONE - I think Odom would work out great in Dallas..
I couldn't picture Artest being part of the Mavs..So Im glad that didn't go through. lol
one wish a name to throw out there is..Devin Harris ..add his name to one of your options:) Devin is an amazing player and he shouldn't have been traded. We need him back badly.
Best wishes.
Britt
23 days ago
Excellent work Sean. As a Knick Fan, I don't love your offer b/c it hurts the Knick's chances of getting under the 2010 cap. I would want something simpler.. Howard and maybe Eddie jones(who gets waved, for Zach..).. or if Dampier has to be in it, make Dallas take Jarred Jefferies off their hands. Keep in mind, Dallas might want Randolph. He and Dirk would be an interesting 4/5 combo in the west.
23 days ago
Man would Toronto love option No. 4!
23 days ago
Option#1: Nice deal for the Lakers, but why would the Mavs do this? Are they really better with Odom? I don't think so. Still, I like where you were going with the idea.
Option#2: Why would the Mavericks deal Howard for Wallace? Wallace is a guy who always gets hurt, and who has five years and $50+ mil remaining on his contract. I can think of 50 better players to get at $10 million per. But it's possible. Cuban is willing to spend. They could use Wallace's dirty work. Especially if they get pick or cash out of it...sure.
Option#3 Good idea, poor execution. Randolph would be excellent in Dallas, and they could use him. But you're on drugs if you think the Knicks--or any team--is going to take on Erick Dampier's contract. Doing this trade would leave the Knicks with Dampier, Jerome James and Eddy Curry. That's preposterous. And then the idea that Danilo Gallinari will play power forward is one of the most absurd things I've ever heard. He's 19, weak, and a complete finesse player who will need a minimum of three years to contribute anything. I mean, did you see how he got hurt in his first pre-season game?
But good idea on Dallas' side. Remove Dampier, thrown in a pick or two, send Terry back to the Knicks, and you have something. Maybe Howard and Terry for Randolph and Crawford?
Option#4 Not bad, although a bit one-sided. The Raptors clearly are getting the best of the deal. Why would the Mavs want Bargnani, a poor man's Dirk, to play alongside Dirk? I can see Parker in Dallas. Moon too. But not Andrea. Would the Raps even give up on him so soon?
Option#5 I think you might be on to something here. A trade between these two teams make sense. I can see Sheed and Prince being moved for Howard and ? I don't think Hamilton is going anywhere unless a player of T-Mac's magnitude is coming back in return. Hamilton is one of the top five shooters in the NBA.
Good post.
from 23 days ago
Thank you.
The Mavericks are in the best position to deal Josh Howard simply because he is an amazing talent and the NBA's dire need for versatile, playmaking forwards.
23 days ago
They shoulda made the move for Artest and will regret it...They need a defender on that team and Marion and Josh Smith only two who really would fit wit kidd and dirk
23 days ago
Cool article, I hadn't thought of most of those trades before. Some of them wouldn't necessarily help the Mavs, but they would shake things up.
The Detroit and Toronto scenarios are very interesting though, but J-Smoove is still my No. 1 seed.
23 days ago
Option #6, trade Howard and perhaps Stackhouse to Denver for Allen Iverson and a filler, maybe Linas Kleiza? I tried that the other day and it worked on ESPN's trade machine. Howard would give Denver a solid sidekick on the perimeter to Melo, and Stackhouse would provide depth at small forward as well as cap relief in two seasons. Dallas would get a group of Big Three that could push them back to the top of the Western Conference. He's got the perfect point guard next to him in Kidd since is big enough that he could guard shooting guards with Iverson defending the point.
Good post, you brought up some interesting ideas.
from 23 days ago
Thank you for the feedback.
I explored several other trades between the Mavs-Nuggets, and I had a deal that sent Kidd and Howard to Denver for Allen Iverson, Nene, and Linas Kleiza.
The deal may have stalled because of Nene's health condition, and I'm not quite convinced Howard and Melo could co-exist on the same team.
22 days ago
i wonder how you keep you job
22 days ago
are you guys retarded? Jay HO is good, but not good enough for Euro league MVP Anthony Parker, up and comer and Mr. Highlight Reel Jamario Moon who is bargain basement at this point and our jewel Andrea Bargnani. That is a one side trade for Raptors, who basically loose 3 significant players.
Man who ever wrote this article clearly does not know the Raptors franchise and as such should not speak about them again. This is Bryan Colangelo's team and I don't think he would bring in that recluse Josh Howard a borderline allstar.
One thing you guys need to understand is that we have a deep connection with our players and to trade because spoiled brat Mark Cuban wants to cover his ass for the Jason Kidd fiasco is unacceptable. There would be a huge back lash against Bryan Colangelo if he performed a trade like that. For one thing, once Andrea gets good than everyone's opinion changes and no one knows about the performance of Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon is one of a kind.
Man skip that trade.
Also to the writer of this article, your forgeting the salary issues, is one man who values at $15 mil a year equal to 3 individuals who make over $20 mil combined???? Like what the freg are you thinkin man?
from 22 days ago
Josh Howard makes only $9.45 million a year, so I would say your going overboard with $15 million per year.
Secondly, Andrea makes $4.5 million per year, Moon $711,157, and Parker about $1.3 giving a total of about $6.8 million. I also mentioned sending cash along with Josh which would cover the difference.
Lastly, I checked out the deal on Trade Machine and it was cleared.
So what were you thinking?
21 days ago
Uh,
Anthony Parker = $4.5 million
Anrdrea Bargnani = $ 5.1 million
Jamario Moon = $711, 517
With all the talents considered, with all the differences in abilities why would Colangelo make a move like that???? FOR ONE GUY!?!?!? What would be filled up with the void left at the SF, SG, and backup PF positions? Also we have a premier PF in BOSH, so what we need him for?
Especially a borderline all star like a Jo ho. Nah dude....nah....
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